Life As We Knew It
by silverbutterfly13
Summary: Death Note AU. Although L has plenty of possible successors, there's always room for more in the Whammy house. But when you're on the run from someone who wants you dead and is willing to go to any lengths to make it happen, it's almost impossible to keep everyone you love safe.


A.N/ I've had this plot bunny for a long time, and I've finally broken past my writers block to write this. Credit must be given to TheDeathAssistant4 for writing a fair portion of the story (thank you!). On that note, please enjoy~

* * *

In a small city in California, a girl sat on the low mattress of her bed, inspecting the scratches decorating her steel colored bat. Humming a nameless tune, she failed to notice the muffled voices from the front door of her empty apartment.

Suddenly her bedroom door swung open, a figure hidden in the shadows.

The girl stared at the doorway. "Who's there?" the teenager asked apprehensively, clutching the bat tightly.

"Don't be afraid," soothed a monotone voice,"I mean you no harm".

She stood, crouching slightly and tensing her calves in preparation to spring while sizing up the hunched silhouette of the raven-haired man through the fringe of her dark bangs.

"Who the hell are _you_?" she asked furiously.

The figure chewed on its thumb before finally answering,"I am L, the world's #1 detective."  
The girl snarled, an indignant expression on her young face, and raised the bat, "I don't care who the hell you are! Just-"

"Wait!" interrupted a new voice. Both heads turned toward the male voice.

"What the hell are you two doing in my room?" the girl screeched.

The two men looked at her like she had just asked them to juggle chain saws while bouncing on a trampoline. (That was BB's thing, not theirs.)

"You don't know?" asked the newly christened "Panda Man", as he gestured with his free hand (the one unattached to the chain) to the other man,"This is Light Yagami, and we're here to bring you to the Whammy House."

The girl stared at him in shock before finally spluttering,"What the hell are you talking about?"

The two men looked at each other for a long moment, seeming to silently converse.

"She doesn't know." the man called Light (dubbed "Pretty Boy" in her mind) said at last.

"No, she doesn't. Did she not get the letter...?" inquired Panda Man.

"I'm right here you know!" yelled the girl.

They looked at her as if she were a small child throwing a tantrum. L sighed and resumed biting his thumb. Narrowing her eyes, she glared at the pair, calculating the advantage they have against her and the heavy casualties she would have to inflict.

"Just tell me what in God's name is going on!", she demanded, "What is your purpose for being here?"

"You use a lot of profanity," said yet another voice coming from the doorway.

The girl whirled around in shock as two more people entered the room.

"F***" , the girl cursed. She admonished herself for not foreseeing the distraction backup tactic they used. Crap, they really had the advantage now. A very pale boy, even paler than L, looked at the taller blond boy wearing a leather jacket and eating a chocolate bar.

"Mello," he inquired,"why is she using such gratuitous language?"

The boy (dubbed Barbie) looked at him with distaste and shrugged.

"How should I know?" he spat, "I'm not a girl so I don't know _what_ they're thinking."

The girl glared at the latest intruders, "Could have fooled me." she muttered.

Panda Man gave Barbie a pointed look as he opened his mouth to shout back a retort. "I thought I told you two to wait in the living room." The blond boy looked chagrined, while the other simply twirled his hair around his fingers. The man sighed. "Where's Matt?" he questioned them.

The two boys shrugged before walking over to sit on the bed. The girl pivoted as she held the bat in a customary kenjutsu fighting stance, keeping an eye at Barbie's holster as she fingered the worn bat handle a tad uneasily.

"If I don't get more information on what you're doing in my house, in my bedroom, so help me God, I will scream so loud the people on the other side of the world will hear me." the girl said through clenched teeth to make up for her temporary lapse.

"Quit bitching," said the blond,"We're not crazy nut cases with a notebook of death that want to kidnap you and take you halfway across the world to prepare you for being the number one detective in the world."  
She mildly noted that his eye twitched and his countenance darkened as he said the last part before taking a furious bite at the abused chocolate bar he held crushed in his gloved hand.

L sent the boy another warning look before turning back to the girl. "Please calm down." he said, "We will explain everything on the way to the airport."

The girl sucked in a breath, ready to scream, but suddenly, a firm hand clamped over her mouth. She immediately stopped breathing, afraid the person was trying to knock her out. She struggled to see who had a hold of her, but only saw a flash of red hair. She scanned the room, trying to find out who was behind her, but it appeared as if no one had moved. Dammit, who was behind her? It was a male hand, since the fingers, especially the thumb, were longer than her own, curving along her whole jaw. Also, the person's fingers were rough from what she guessed as years of constant pressing. Perhaps typing? Suddenly a piece of information clicked in her mind and she realized it was the boy Panda Man had talked about. What was his name, Pat? Matt? She struggled against him, but he kept hold.

"Promise not to scream?" the boy whispered softly in her ear, almost teasingly. She bared her teeth against his hand but nodded stiffly. The boy released her, and she quickly turned and punched him in the face, using centripetal force from her turn to strengthen her hit.

The boy fell against the wall in surprise, a shocked look quickly replaced by a smile.

"Nice reflexes", he commented before reaching for what she assumed was a tissue to wipe away the thin trail of blood leaking from his nose, but instead he pulled out the latest PSP Vita, wiping the blood away with his sleeve.

"Nice of you to join us Matt." said L, smiling bemused at the scene.

The others, excluding Bag 'o' Marshmallows at the corner of her bed, smirked and looked back at the girl, who had started inching towards the door. She did not know these people. Sudden movements could set them off in a homicidal rampage (especially Barbie). Panda Man abruptly moved in front of her exit, chain links clinking at the action, "Now, now, that won't do."

The female silently seethed. _Great_. _T__here goes another chance to escape_, she thought. She glanced at the blond boy sitting by the albino before her lips tugged into a tiny smirk. A few of her uninvited visitors caught the micro-expression. She sidestepped swiftly, tugging open the door to her walk-in wardrobe, grabbing and throwing her Pikachu piggy-bank at her unsuspecting target. The ceramic container hit his Barbie-blond hair and fell to the floor with a dull thud. He tensed visibly before whipping around to glare at her with the fury of a thousand suns, "WHAT THE HELL?!" he screamed.

Nonplussed, the girl smirked as she saw a small crack on the fallen object. She could practically see a vein pulsing at his temple, "Hey Barbie! Did you get those pants at Forever 21 or Hos r Us? 'cause it looks really gay!"

She quickly ducked as he chucked a random object at her that shattered against the wall behind her and shut her closet door, readying her bat as she heard his shout of outrage. She knew the boy was stronger, despite his effeminate appearance, and could quickly overtake her, so she didn't even try resisting as he practically ripped the door off its hinges trying to get the door open. However, she did bring the bat down at his wounded head with enough force to not kill him, but to knock him out for about 5 minutes. As he fell, she noticed a few of the others' eyes widen, some stepping towards their fallen comrade to try to aid the fallen teen, but not so close that she could hit them also.

L smiled slightly as he met her eyes, "Impressive. You exploited his wild and erratic characteristics to maneuver him into an exposed position, seeing as he seems to be the only one who had a long-range weapon at plain sight. You expected the rest of us to not harm you, for we cannot bring a mutilated body to the airport. Therefore, you eliminated Mello, the imminent threat to yourself. You assumed that Near was weak and didn't pose as dangerous, Light and I are incapacitated due to our limited movements with the chain, and Matt doesn't seem likely to harm you, for he would have done so after you punched him."

The black-haired girl smirked before kneeling by the unconscious blond and disarming him, then repositioning the bat above his head. "I took a leaf out of Sun Tzu's Art of War. Now, lay down all your remaining weapons and don't come any closer or I'll hurt your friend again."

Fluffball spoke up with a softer monotone than L, "Her drastic actions imply she believes she is in a life-or-death situation. She also shows signs of anxiety and paranoia. Chances she would kill him would be at 73%. She believes power balance has shifted to her favor."

"Shut up you albino teddy bear. All of you get on the bed or I'll use the bat again." she said with fury ebbing in her voice. They observed her for a minute, then started talking among themselves.

"We should get going soon, our flight leaves in 2 hours." said Pretty Boy, trying to tug Panda Man out of the room with him.

The girl stared at them in disbelief, confused as to why they weren't listening to her. She technically had one of their own hostage, and they didn't even care! Who the heck were these people, and why were they being so persistent?

She mentally calculated the chance that they would do something drastic, and decided it was at about a 65% chance, give or take a few. She wondered how many she could take out before they could stop her, and who would be her best first target. She knew she should take advantage of her upper hand in the situation before anything else occurred, but had her thought cut off by the realization that one of the men had started walking over to her. She raised her bat defensively and crouched into a position that would allow her to hit hard and then move away quickly.

L smiled, fully knowing that the girl was perfectly willing to use the bat at any opportune moment. He wondered what forms of martial arts she had studied, and decided that he would give her a few pointers next time on how to improve. He held up in hands in a surrendering gesture and sat on the bed next to Matt and Near.

The girl watched Panda Man walk over to the bed and proceeded to not sit, but crouch on the caving mattress. More confused than ever (and definitely more exasperated) she waited for someone to make a move. It was all starting to make her head spin. She backed up till she felt the wall behind her. Slumping down until she was sitting on the floor, she rested her head on her knees, trying to make sense of the bizarre situation around her. She sensed another presence approaching her right and peeked up to see Matt looking at her with a cautious gaze. He gave her a small smile and resumed playing his game. She looked back at L who had observed her quietly. He sighed and opened his mouth to speak.

"Since you _have_ been mostly patient with us and because we are on a tight schedule, I suppose I will have to explain the purpose of this visit." he pulled his thumb out from between his teeth and continued. "We have been watching you for the past few months, seeing how you process certain problems and observing how you control yourself in situations others would almost certainly break down in."

The girl looked at him in shock before replacing it with neutral expression, trying to hide her surprise. Composing her thoughts, she asked him," I thought that I felt someone observing me at times, but there was no evidence to go from. I brushed it off as my survival instincts." She tensed as Mello began to stir, ready to hit him again if necessary. Instead, he sat up, groaned, and gave her a dirty look, moving to sit on the bed. He plunked down, clutching his head in his hands.

L continued, "We would like you to come join us at the Whammy house, where we will provide you housing, clothes, education, and much more. We believe you will make a great contribution to our 'family'. I apologize for the sudden invitation, but there's a situation that has forced us to come get you sooner than expected."

She sat in stunned silence, not knowing what to say. Her parents had been gone for a few months, killed in a car accident. She had supported herself since, not knowing anyone trustworthy to turn to. She had told no one. She had continued with school, payed for what bills she could, and used any leftover money to pay for food. This was a wonderful offer... if they were telling the truth.

Smiling slightly at the expected response, L got up and stepped next to Light, wrapping an arm around the man's narrow hips. The younger of the two smiled at the action, leaning into the elders embrace. Suddenly there came a loud noise at the front door. All heads turned towards the hall. They moved towards the door simultaneously, trying to see who the intruder was. Creeping down the hall, they peeked around the corner to sneak a peek of the visitor.

"Hey, Ninja Girl! You there? It's me. You told me you were going to be alone for the weekend and I thought, no way am I gonna leave you all alone in this creepy old house. I brought..."

The girl trailed off as she rounded the corner of the hall and came face to face with a very odd-looking group. She sought her friend's gaze and narrowed her eyes slightly, her curiosity overriding her nervousness of the situation. She leaning against the wall. "You didn't say you would be having guests." she said, giving the strange group a once-over. Smiling slightly, she nodded her head at the four strangers, who, except for the white-haired boy, had looked away awkwardly. Turning around and walking back towards the kitchen, she talked over her shoulder,"Any of you hungry? I brought enough food to feed an army." The group followed her, not being able to resist the temptation of food (especially L).

Once in the kitchen, the group stared at the enormous pile of junk food piled on the counter. Sugary, salty, and inevitably fatty food overflowed out of the plastic bags that had been piled on the smooth surface. They gaped in awe at the cornucopia of food. L was the first to take action. A small smile play across his lips when he spotted a strawberry cheesecake resting at the bottom of one of the sacks, and Mello was delighted to see a variety of chocolate bars at his disposal. Near and Light however, were more reserved, digging through the pile until finding marshmallow peeps and chips. Matt hardly glanced up from the game console in his hands, grabbing a package of gummy worms. Once the group had found their snacks, the newcomer cleared her throat.

"Mind explaining what's going on here?" she asked.

"Kat... I need to tell you something." the other girl said softly.

Kat furrowed her brow. "Okay...?" she said warily.

"About a month ago... my parents died in a car accident."

Kat's eyes grew round, and her mouth dropped open in a small 'o'. "You mean this whole time... you've lived by yourself?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me Jac? Have you told _anyone_?" she sputtered.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't want to trust anyone. I don't want to be put into the foster system. I can take care of myself, and I most certainly didn't want anyone's pity. I can't _stand_ it when people feel sorry for me." Jac said angrily. She dropped her head, her eyes burning with unshed tears. Tears she had tried so hard to hold back. "These people... they want me to come to their orphanage."

"Wait... so you're leaving? Do you _know_ these people? Do you even know where this orphanage is?!"

"It's in Winchester, England." spoke Near, fiddling with the plastic wrapping of the marshmallow peeps.

Kat gave the boy a dirty look, but let it go and turned back to her friend. "That's _really_ far away," she told her "you're actually willing to go halfway around the world to go to this orphanage?"

"I don't have any other choice. I need to get out of here. Start over. I can't stay here much longer. Someone will find out, and I can't let that happen. This is my best bet," Jac pleaded with her friend.

Kat sighed, wondering how she had gotten herself into this mess. She was worried about her friend, but knew that what she was saying was true. She also knew that she wouldn't be able to stop Jac, but maybe there was a way to at least help her out. She made a snap decision, turning to look at the two men standing in the kitchen. "Look, I don't know who you are or what exactly you're trying to achieve here. All I care about is making sure my friend is safe. So on that note, I'm coming with you all."

The group stared at her in shock, eyes wide.

"What?" Kat asked.

L smiled, surprised that this girl was this protective of her friend. "How would your parents feel about you going on a spontaneous trip to England?" he asked her.

"My parents are kind of... big-wigs... and the most busy people I know. I'll just tell them that one of my friends is going to visit her family and that she's invited me. Besides, it's Friday, and these next two weeks are spring break. They'll be glad to get me out of the house so they can host some fancy-shmancy party." Kat said bitterly.

L stuck his thumb in his mouth, knowing that he was in a tight spot. If he didn't let the girl come, Jac might be afraid that they were trying to "pull one" on her. On the other hand, letting Kat go with them provided unpremeditated variables. But he _had_ to get Jac to the safety of the Whammy house, and it seemed that the best possibility for that to occur would be to let Kat come with them. "Alright, you may accompany us on our trip back to England." he said with a decisive tone. Light stared at him in disbelief.

"Are you serious L?"

"Have you ever known me to joke my dear Light-kun?" L asked his partner.

Light blushed, and L turned back to Kat. "We'll need to leave it a few minutes, as the plane takes off in an hour from now, and it's a 30 minute drive to the airport." he told her.

"Can I stop at my house to grab a few things?" Kat asked him.

"I believe we will be able to provide you with anything you might need." L responded gently. "We need to be going." He leaned over the counter to grab a plastic container of cookies, and then walked out of the kitchen towards the door, dragging Light behind him, the other males following him. Kat and Jac held back, silently acknowledging the need to talk to each other in private.

"So you trust these people?" Kat asked Jac, picking up a lollipop and fiddling with it.

"I'm not sure... I don't think they're lying though. I believe that they do want me to join them at this orphanage, but I don't know their goal in doing this." Jac sighed, not knowing what else to say.

"I just don't want you to get hurt during all this. I wish that you had told me sooner about your parents. How did you last this long by yourself without raising suspicion?" Kat questioned.

"I... I've kind of taken care of myself all my life... my parents had a... problem. They drank a lot, and it got worse and worse as I got older. They started staying out all night, and coming home drunk in the morning. Then it became two nights, then three. I got used to being alone and providing for myself. It got to the point where I was alone for weeks at a time. When they'd came back, they'd have lots of money. I don't know where they got it from, and I didn't question them about it. Most of the time they were too drunk or hungover to notice me. I would take a couple hundred dollars from my mom's purse, and that would take care of me for the few weeks with enough money left over in case of emergency. Since I'm only 15, I can't drive, but I take the bus or use my bike to travel around. I even learned to forge my parents signatures. It was hard at times, but I got used to it," her voice wavered slightly, "Then they got in the accident. They were driving home, probably drunk out of their minds, and they... they flew off the freeway pass. It had been 3 weeks since I had last seen them. I don't think they had any identification on them or in the car, since the article in the newspaper identified them and a John and Jane Doe. They asked for anyone who knew who they were to come forward. No one did. I promised myself that I would keep it a secret for as long as I could. I didn't need anyone to take care of me." Tears streamed silently down her face, but there was a hardness in her eyes. "I need to get out of here," she repeated. She wiped the tears haphazardly away with her sleeve, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Kat stood frozen, processing what she had just been told. How much had her friend been suffering all this time? How had she held it in and gone on with life so easily? Or at least it seemed that way. She knew that if she were in Jac's place she never would have lasted this long. She glanced at the clock on the microwave, and walked towards Jac, linking her arm in hers. "Then let's get out of here." she said quietly. Jac gave her a small smile, and they walked out the door.

* * *

Welp, here it is! I hope you enjoyed, please review, yada yada. I loved writing this, and I'm planning on writing a follow-up chapter as soon as I can. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to message me. Thanks for reading~


End file.
